Open Seeds: An inclusive training and mentoring program for Open Science ambassadors, supported by a powerful knowledge management system, open resources, and a worldwide community

Open Seeds: An inclusive training and mentoring program for Open Science ambassadors, supported by a powerful knowledge management system, open resources, and a worldwide community#

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Open Seeds is a 16-week online training and mentoring program by Open Life Science (OLS) that empowers individuals and their teams in research and non-research organizations across different sectors to lead their work using open science and research best practices. Combining the cohort-based training and 1-1 or small group mentorship by experienced practitioners, mentees learn, reflect on, and adopt open science practices whilst they work towards becoming ambassadors of open science in their communities. Among essential open science approaches, such as open source, open access, open data and open education, the Open Seeds curriculum combines community engagement and open leadership skills to embed responsible, equitable, and inclusive research methods. Since 2020, OLS has offered eight cohorts, building a diverse community of over 500 members from 60+ low- and middle- (LMICs), and high-income countries (HICs), supported by 120+ mentors and 150+ experts. OLS community members engage in peer-based knowledge exchange through formal and informal channels, helping new learners deepen their theoretical knowledge with real-world examples from different domains and diverse geographical contexts.

This article discusses lessons and resources developed in OLS through several iterations of the Open Seeds program. We share insights gained from organizing these cohorts with a community of volunteers, data collected from surveys and critical improvements to the training materials made over the last five years. By design, Open Seeds is a fully virtual training program, hence, one of the major focuses of our pedagogical choices has been on improving online accessibility during and outside cohort activities. Based on our experience and feedback from the community, we share recommendations such as making online calls inclusive, providing microgrants to address basic financial/technical barriers to participation for an international cohort, and creating meaningful pathways for volunteer members to engage with open science. Finally, we share resources from the Open Seeds program, including 200+ training videos, cohort-delivery materials and training assets made openly available for access and reuse via a well designed Knowledge Management System under permissive license (open-life-science).

Long manuscript

Supplementary Data